This invention relates generally to apparatus useful in the fabrication of building trusses, particularly flat trusses of the type comprising a pair of parallel wood chord members (e.g., 2.times.4's), a series of web members spanning the chord members, and connector means having teeth adapted to be pressed into the chord members for rigidly interconnecting the web and chord members.
The present invention is especially suited for (but not limited to) fabricating parallel-chord flat trusses wherein the chord members are of wood and the web members are of metal and have teeth struck therefrom, as shown and described in coassigned pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63,791 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,850. The substitution of such combination wood-metal trusses for solid lumber floor and ceiling joists has become wide-spread for several reasons, one being the relatively high cost of wood joists. Moreover, a combination wood-metal truss is lighter, stronger and enables duct work, piping and wiring to be routed through the open spaces between the chord members.
Heretofore, there have been several machines capable of fabricating wood-metal trusses, including the machine shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,116 and the machine described in coassigned pending U.S. application Ser. No. 202,866.